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Explosive Kangaroo Plot to Land Australian Teen Life Sentence

June 30, 2016 5:40 AM

VOA News

FILE - A baby kangaroo looks out from its mother's pouch in the Zoo in Erfurt, central Germany. The attempted plot involved painting a kangaroo with the Islamic State symbol, packing its pouch with C4 explosives, and releasing it into the city during the festivities for Anzac Day.

An Australian teen pleaded guilty Thursday to planning a terror attack which included packing a kangaroo with explosives and turning it loose on police on a national holiday in Melbourne.

Police uncovered Sevdet Besim's scheme before the holiday when they found messages on his phone to another teen in Britain about an elaborate plot during the Anzac Day parade on April 25, 2015.

The two allegedly plotted to behead police officers at the parade, as well as paint a kangaroo with the Islamic State symbol, pack its pouch with C4 explosives, and release it into the city during the festivities for Anzac Day - a day honoring soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who landed in Turkey during World War I.

The British 14-year-old who planned the scheme from his home in northern England was sentenced to five years in jail last year, making him Britain's youngest person convicted of terrorism.

Besim could face a life sentence in prison "doing an act in preparation for or planning a terrorist attack." He is due back in court in August.